Sounds Like Love to Me!
by MavisPenfeather
Summary: Nico can't sleep, no matter how hard he tries. So he goes outside to take a walk. He doesn't get very far, but he does find something. Read on to find out what Nico discovers!
1. This Can't Be Love!

I don't own the characters or the setting, just the story. Rick Riordan is the creator of characters and setting

* * *

The red sheets of my coffin bed press gently on the undersides of my limbs as I lay there, still as death. Moonlight hits my father's jewel-covered shrine, glinting coldly off of various precious metals.

I flip over, so that my stomach presses into the mattress instead of my back. Ugh. What's the time? I turn to look at my bone-shaped alarm.

3:00, AM.

Too late. The time is too late. But what else is new?

I bury my face into the scarlet bedding. Usually, I nod off around 12. Why is it so fucking hard to sleep tonight?

A wise little voice at the back of my head whispers the answer: You can't sleep, because you keep thinking of Solace, dumbass.

And even in the wee hours of the morn, even with my brain muddled from lack of sleep, I know the voice is right. But I still suppress it, silence it, because if I'm thinking about him like this, it means that-No! No! Don't think about that! Solace, like Percy before him, is too good, to nice, too...him to like me. And even though I've made up with Percy, even though my secret is out, it still hurts. It hurts in the space between my ribs, it nags at the back of my mind. Solace probably has an Annabeth, one who is ready to love him, better and more fully than I ever can. So, bundle that though up and tight, place it in the bottom of your stomach and think of something else.

…

But what else is there to think of?

...I should probably take a walk, clear my head. Maybe the cool night air will blow away these intruding theories, leaving me in peace.

I pad over to my door, sliding it open and slipping out into the night. A leap over the mini-staircase before my door, and then I'm free. The dew-stained lawn is cold on my feet, and a refreshing wind winds around the trees. I smile, content. Stretching my arms over my head, I look up at the still-dark sky, little needle points of light embroidering the constellations. Aries, Sagittarius, and Ursa Major by her little cub. Mother and cub- like Bianca and I. But that thought hurts, so I take a deep breath, bundle all my bad memories into my stomach, and keep going. But I keep thinking of her. Bianca, I mean. I do think of her more now, I talk about to people (Hazel. Hazel is people.) about her, but not usually, because it still hurts. So I bundle all of memories of her, memories of how I acted after she died, how wrong life was, how wrong I was to do what I did- all of that, into a little box and then shipped it to my stomach. I always feel a bit better when I do that, though my chest does get a little tighter.

I walk forward, because sleep is a forsaken battle and my cabin is so, so hot, and way too cramped. But before I can go very far, something pulls me back onto the staircase. With my free hand, I go for my sword-but I'm in my pj's. So I reach into my pocket for the knife I keep there, unsheathe the celestial bronze weapon, and try to stab it. It blocks me, so I kick backwards. It lets go. I turn around, ready to finish it off, but the thing's not a monster, it's Will Solace.

Oh no. I just attacked my...friend. My friend Will Solace. I put my blade back into its sheath.

"It's you," I say, sounding rather more put out than I am. "Why are you even here?'

Will smiles sheepishly, completely unfazed (as always) by my coarse language. "You've been sleep-walking a lot lately, and doctor Will doesn't think a harpy attack would be very good for your health." Still a bit apologetic, the blonde looks up to me with clear blue eyes, hoping that I'll understand.

I offer him my hand. "It's not like you're completely safe from the harpies either, Solace."

He smiles, and takes my outstretched hand into the warmth of his.

Despite myself, I smile.


	2. The Creepiest Doctor

I don't own the characters or the setting, just the story. Rick Riordan is the creator of characters and setting

* * *

I crouch behind one of the pillars, eyes glued to the door. There is an uneasy feeling in my stomach, and I know that Nico would kill me if he found me here, leaning against one of his obsidian pillars. In fact, this is probably the creepiest thing I could be doing right now. But I push those thoughts away. Nico is so frail now that the war is over, and he needs my help. Only problem is, he won't accept it.

Anyway, he is my priority right now. And he's been sleepwalking.

If the harpies get him in his current state, they might kill him. I can't allow that. So ever since I realized that this was a regular thing, I've been waiting outside his cabin and steering him gently back into his bed. Sometimes, after I walk him back in, if he's having an especially bad nightmare, I sit on his bed and stroke his hair until he calms down. That is bordering stalker behavior, I know, but I just can't help myself when I see his adorable face twisted in fear. I usually fall asleep like that, slumped over in Hazel's red armchair. The only reason why I haven't been found out yet is that I usually wake up before everyone else, and sneak back to the Apollo cabin.

I know that this is kind of a bad idea, but he's my patient. I'm his doctor. He needs me, and I don't know how else to help.

My train of thought is interrupted when suddenly, the door swings open. I leap up and look at the person that comes out. It's Nico, his pale brown skin shining in the moonlight.

He's...different this time around. He looks awake.

But it's dark, and I can't take any chances, so once he starts to shuffle forward, I grab his arm.

He reaches for where his sword would be. Dang it! He's awake! Luckily he doesn't have his swor- And then he slips a dagger out of one of his pockets. Wait...he sleeps with a dagger? Whatever, I need to concentrate. He stabs backwards at my head with surprising precision, but I manage to block him. Good thing he's still so wea-OUCH  
He's kicked me, right where the sun don't shine. I drop to the floor as he turns around, and through the pain I see a shade of dismay painted on his pale face. He puts the blade back in it's sheath, face hardening as he does so. His cold black eyes glint, darker and more beautiful than any night.

"It's you." He says, and he sounds so, so angry, "Why are you even here?"

Ouff. That hurt. But I understand. He has every reason to be angry with me.

I try to smile a doctor's soothing smile, even though I'm pretty guilt-ridden at the moment.

"You've been sleep-walking a lot lately, and Dr Will doesn't think a harpy attack would be very good for your health," I say lamely, lifting my eyes up to his, hoping, hoping he'll forgive me, because I couldn't stand it if Nico hated me.

His hard eyes soften a bit, somehow managing to become even more captivating. He offers me his hand and says, "It's not like you're completely safe from the harpies either"

The cold, white hand lifts me up. When I look at his face, I see that a delicate, shy smile is lighting up his face. I can't help grinning back. He is too cute, sometimes.

He, to my surprise, starts to lead me into his cabin. I hear him take a few deep breaths, and when I see his face again, the smile is gone. He's pulling me gently but firmly into his cabin.

"It's too dangerous for you to head back to your cabin, Solace." He says. I try to remember whether or not he's been having trouble breathing lately. Should I be worried?

"Wait," I say, and he stops pulling. I've finally realized that it's kind of weird for him to be doing this. (What? It's not my fault if he's really good-looking and elegant and adorable. No homo)

"I can handle the harpies, and it's not that far from my cabin," I reason. It sounds more like a question than a statement, though.

I'm outside the shadowy cabin, he's inside, our hands linking us together. He looks at me, and I'm struck with the force of his determination.

"Solace," he commands, a hard look in his eye. I wonder why he's acting so strangely, but I'm kind of looking forward to spending some alone time with Nico. I nod, and walk into the cabin.

The door swings shut behind us, leaving only a few slivers of darkness behind. He walks to his bed and plops down, skin glowing in the slivers of light shining down from the closest window. It takes a moment for the two of us to realize how intimate this is, especially considering his sexuality. He turns red and shoots up, quickly moving to a nearby chair. I, red in the face as well, lower myself into a dark ebony stool.

I try to break the awkward silence. "So… do you think that there's a reason why you've been sleepwalking lately?"

He gives me A Look, and I know I should have said something else-anything else. This is not the infirmary, he doesn't want to talk about his problems. He doesn't need a doctor. I have work herd to summon a smile to my face after that thought.

"No," Nico says. I start, having not expected an answer.

I smile, happy he's finally talking to me. "Good."

I'm starting to feel tired, though. Nico is too, judging by his lackluster expression.

"Nico...we should go to bed," I advise.

"Don't!," he says, jolting out of his chair a bit. He sinks back down and looks at me.

"Don't go," he tries again.

I smirk. "I'm not going, Deathboy. In fact, I'd stay here all night if you let me."

Nico's eyes widen, and his face turns bright red.

"O-ok then," he replies, "You can have Hazel's bed."

For some reason, I really, really don't want Hazel's bed. Maybe it's the look in his eyes that tells me, maybe it's something else, but I know he doesn't want me to leave his side.

Huh...that was pretty cheesy. Whatever.

"Or I could sleep with you," I whisper, a sound just loud enough for Nico to hear.

He turns the brightest red I've ever seen. He nods, though, and crawls into bed. I slide in after him, sightly embarrassed and confused at my actions.

We lie there, back-to-back, for moment until we both drop off into the chaos of our dreams.

The next morning, I wake up entangled in his touch.


	3. Oh No

When I wake up, Will is watching me from Hazel's bed. I glare at him, confused.

"What are you doing here?" I ask.

"Don't you remember?" He says matter-of-factually, "We slept together."

Wait-WHAT?! My face burns as I stare at him, mouth open, too shocked to say anything. He begins to turn bright red under my gaze.

"Oh! Not in that way!" He clarifies quickly. I relax a little, beginning to remember the night before. I turn red again when I remember what happened. I had stayed awake for an extra hour after Will dropped off because I couldn't stop thinking about how he was there, right next to me, how close he was, how soft he felt,how his warmth enveloped me. This is a particularly embarrassing and incriminating memory, so I pack it up and put it into the bottom of my stomach. Besides, I should be considering more important things now.

"Well, Solace, how late is it?" I ask.

"Uh...5:35." He says, still red in the face.

"Do you think any of the campers are up?" I hope they aren't, because if they see us coming out of my cabin together, they'll get the wrong idea. Particularly Jason and the Aphrodite cabin.

"Some might be...but usually everyone wakes up more around 7..." He tells me, confused.

"Good. You sneak out the back entrance and I'll go out the front." I say.

"Why?" He asks.

"Because we can't leave the cabin together!" I hiss.

After a while, his eyes widen in surprise. He colors, but is also smirking.

"Won't me going out the back entrance be a dead giveaway?" He questions.

I just glare at him. "I'll be even worse if we go out the front together."

He sighs. "Fine, Deathboy." He smiles at me, face still a little red. "I'll do it."

I nod and try not to return the Will's grin.

"Wait, you have a back entryway?" He suddenly asks.

"Yes." I say. "I don't want everybody knowing what I'm doing all the time, Solace."

"Oh." he says. Then his eyes suddenly light up and he grins."Alright! Show me where it is!'

I'm suspicious. Why is he so enthusiastic all of a sudden?

Whatever. I point to a nearly-invisible trapdoor on the floor between Hazel's bed and Dad's shrine.

"It's right there." I say, "And **try** not to be seen."

He nods and slips toward it, as if he's practicing being sneaky. I roll my eyes and wait until he's opened the trapdoor before I open the front door.

My chest constricts at the sight that greets me. This is bad.

Long story short, we're doomed.


	4. The Worst Doctor

Sorry about any spelling mistakes, I did run through it, but I probably didn't get everything. I'll look at it again, but I think it's been long enough.

* * *

I'm only halfway out of Nico's back door when I hear it. Cheers, and shouts, and the ear-spitting hum of lots of people being as loud as possible. And the noise is coming from the front of the Hades cabin. I, fearing the worst, start to creep around the house. I glance around the first corner, and lo and behold, there stood a Hermes kid.

"Boo." says the kid, a devious grin plastered all over his dumb face.

My stomach twists in on itself. This is bad. Nico had been right to fear the shippers. They were everywhere.

I know that if the rumor that they were together spread, Nico's emotional state would get even worse.

"We didn't do anything." my mouth shouts, apparently independent of me. Oh god. Why did I have to say that? That was basically a confession!

The Hermes kid just smirks.

"Yeah right." he sneers, eyes glittering with mirth.

I glare at the kid before shoving past him. I don't have time for this! I have to get to Nico. And then I was running past the black walls of the Hades cabin, flying around the last corner, and then...I stops in my tracks.

There is a huge crowd in front of the Hermes cabin entrance, and they're all looking at a frozen Nico with knowing, anticipating looks. He shivers and stutters, looking for all the world like a deer in the headlights. Despite myself, I smile. He's adorable, even now. But I have to get to him, have to explain, have to save him from the crowd. And I'm moving again, pushing through the them, ducking past their questions, wrestling their curiosity away. And finally, finally, I'm by Nico. For some reason, even though _I'm_ the doctor here, I feel better. I touch my finger to his hand, to show him that we're in this together, and turn to face the crowd. It's mostly made up of the Aphrodite kids. Piper gives me a wave and grins. The large group erupts into jeers and cheers and "oohs!" I sigh.

"I's not what you think!" cries Nico, distraught.

"It's really not. I thought I saw his sleepwalking, so I wanted to make sure-"

"Liar!" screams the gleeful crowd. "We know what happened!"

I don't want to deal with this right now. I don't want _Nico_ to deal with this right now. So I say, "Come on Nico, they're not going to listen to us."

"But…"

"Just come."

Nico looks at me with those beautiful black eyes, and nods. I smile, and almost take his hand, before remembering that we should _not_ encourage the crowd. Before he can shadow-travel, I pull him back inside the cabin, and make a beeline for the secret door. Nico sees what I'm doing and launches himself forward as well. We catapult towards the door's's faint outline, and Nico puts his hands in the groove that is that handle, pulls it open, and then we're in a little cupboard-like space between the door and outside. He slams the door shut as I open the next, hoping that no Hermes kids are on the other side. I peek out. We're free! Nico slinks out from behind me, quick but silent, and I wonder at his stealth as he signals for me to follow him towards the forest. Also, his butt is nice. Like, really, really nice.

I mean healthy. I meant healthy. It's a healthy butt.

Anyway, as he makes his way towards the wood with the kind of stealth that would make a spy feel inadequate, I clumsily attempt to not step on any twigs. And finally, finally, we're standing on dappled leaves, in the cooling shelter of the trees. I let out the breath that I had almost suffocated while holding, and try to meet those gorgeous black eyes of Nico's. But they aren't there. I look around, and after further scrutiny, find him huddled down in a shady patch behind some bushes. I join him, wishing that I too was wearing black.

But once I'm next to him, my smile vanishes like smoke on a windy day. He looks so tired. I scoot closer to him, and put my hand on his, to show him that he's not alone. I look at him again. He looks…. Vulnerable. Hurt. I'm shocked. I mean, the war was hard on all of us, and especially Nico, and I knew that his life was hard even before that, but… This was almost scary, just how tired and heartbroken he looked at that moment.

I figure that Nico wouldn't appreciate me staring at him as if he's some freak show oddity, though, so I switch my attention to the ground and try to figured out how I could make him happy again. But before I get to any conclusion, I feel a weight on my shoulder. My head snaps up at record speed, and I see that Nico has lain his head on my shoulder. His eyes are closed and I am struck with just how pale he is, excepting the fire-engine red of his cheeks. I turn my body so it's more comfortable for him, slowly though, so as to not make too much noise or scare Nico off. I hesitantly lift up one hand, and it hovers in in the patchy light before recoiling as Nico's beautiful eyes open. He sighs, and looks at the mottled brown of the forest floor. He turns his head so that only one of his eyes is showing, and puts his hands on mine. My already burning face reddens, and Nico begins to speak.

"I just… don't want to deal with this anymore."

"Deal with what?"

"Everything! I mean, now that my, er, secret is out, people either try to find relationships for me or ridicule me for how I am. Plus, now that the Saviors of the World like me, other people are trying to include me, but you can tell that it's hard. That they don't really want to."

"That's not true! We all love you, Nico." I plead, shock probably evident in my face as I stare at his sagging form.

"No, they're _trying_ to love me. There's a difference."

"Oh, Nico…"

"Even you! I can tell that it's hard for you, and Percy, and Annabeth and Piper, and Jason, that you all just think of me as your little emo charity case!" a sob escapes from Nicos lips as he says this, and the edge to his words, the conviction behind them, drives them right into my heart. My shoulder feels wet with hot tears, and it keeps getting wetter as Nico sobs angrily. I just sit still, processing the words.

Eventually, I turn, and grab Nico's face. I glare at him, rage making my movements choppy and harsh. Nico looks up at me, shocked, but still angry.

"Don't you ever, ever say that again." I hiss, my nails digging into Nico's perfect skin. "You are _**not**_ my fucking charity case. You have never, ever, ever been."

Nico's amazing, black eyes fly open at the swear word. I'm too angry to care.

Hot tears begin to pool up in my eyes and my grip loosens. Already, I feel guilty about treating Nico so roughly.

"You're too important to me to be a charity case." I whisper, shame gluing my eyes to the ground. I gulp. He's going to hate me isn't he. I glance up at him. His wide eyes are as open as they can be, and he stares at me in utter horror. I take in a deep, sharp breath.

Oh gods. He hates me now! I shoot up, turn around, and begin to run. Leaves scratch at my ankles, and twigs snag on my t-shirt, but I'm too embarrassed to care. The words 'charity case' and his expression of horror haunt me as I battle my way through the thick foliage of the forest, not caring who (or what) finds me. He hates me now after all. And I could never, ever stand Nico's hate.

But it's not just _him_. It's me that I'm running from in this forest. Why did I fly off the handle back there? Am I really that much of a jerk that I can't stand it if someone doesn't think of me as a kind, caring guy?

I feel as if I'm going to suffocate, with all of these depressing thoughts sloshing about in my mind. I begin to climb the nearest climbable tree, scrabbling up, up, up, for fresh air. Eventually, I run out of branches, and all of the Camp is spread out before me. I don't know why I feel so upset. I mean, he probably doesn't _really_ hate me… Right?

And then I remember what I said, and how Nico's beautiful face was twisted in horror and shock, and I just want crawl into a hole and die. He'll definitely hate me after this. Plus, I was basically stalking him earlier, and there _was_ I that time last week when I forced him to eat healthy by freaking _spoon-feeding_ him vegetables, and a dozen other mistakes.

...God I'm an awful doctor, and I didn't realize it. I'm awful, he hates me, I'm awful, he hates me, I'm awful…

After wallowing in self-pity like that for a what seemed like forever, I realize that all I can do is apologize for being the largest idiot that has ever stepped foot on this earth and hope that Nico still likes me. I start to climb down from the tree, my butt aching and my limbs scratched, until I'm on solid ground. I start to follow the trail of broken branches back, keeping a sharp lookout for Nico. Running off was a really bad idea. Nico probably feels ever worse... Darn it!

The dead leaves make swishy noises under my feet, and I think of Percy and his swishy water tricks. Percy is everything I am plus everything I'm not. He's one of the best. No wonder Nico liked _him_ instead of… instead of…

...Why am I even thinking of Percy?

Whatever. Point is, I'm the stupidest thing on the face of earth.

Wait.

' _Swish'_

What was that? I spin around to face the source of the noise, hand immediately going to my sword. One of the shadows is a bit too dark for my taste. I stare at it.

Oh Holy Apollo… It's Nico!

I lunge forwards, to him, and he tries to move away, but I'm fast enough. He materializes, and suddenly, I'm holding Nico's wrist.

"So." he says.

Panic wells up inside me, and I grasp both of his hands before blabbing, "Look, Nico, I'm so sorry for what I did back there, I shouldn't have done it. I don't mean, like, that I didn't mean that you aren't a charity case, I mean, you are really, really important to me, but I didn't want to, like, hurt you, or anything, so please forgive me please?"

Nico sighs, and looks at me, one of his rare, absolutely worth it smiles.

"You are such an idiot." he whispers, and I break into a giddy grin. He doesn't hate me! I'm grinning, and he's grinning, and it's perfect. Everything is perfect.

I suddenly realize that we are holding hands. Nico notices and lets go, his face reverting back to his default 'grumpy teen' setting, and my heart sinks a little in my chest.

"Anyway, we should probably head back to camp." Nico dictates, and I nod.

"Yeah. Who knows? Maybe we can convince them that were not together." I jest, trying to sound happy. A shadow flits over Nico's face before we start walking.

"Yeah." He murmurs. He looks sad again.

After seeing that frown, all I can think of on the way back is how much I want to get rid of all of Nico's sadness, how I want to protect him from the cruelness of the world, and how much I _need_ to see his smile again.


End file.
